John Upton

John Upton has a diverse work experience, spanning various industries and roles. John is currently the Chief Executive Officer at London Southend Airport. Prior to this, they served as NED at Burgerism. From 2018 to 2023, they worked as an Advisor at Spoonshot, a Techstars-backed company focused on leveraging food science and machine learning for consumer insights and product development. Before that, they took a break from work in 2021. From 2018 to 2021, they were the Chief Executive Officer at No1 Lounges Ltd, where they successfully led the business through the pandemic and completed successful exits. John also worked as a Business Mentor at Techstars from 2018 to 2021. From 2015 to 2021, they served as Chairman at MOTHER CLUCKER, a fast-growing fried chicken brand. Additionally, they served as Chairman at THE NAKED DELI from 2018 to 2020, supporting the management team in securing PE funding. Furthermore, they worked as an Advisor at Yapster from 2017 to 2019 and as the Managing Director at Leon Restaurants from 2016 to 2018, where they focused on growing the business, expanding partnerships, and increasing delivery sales.

John Upton attended Solihull School from 1987 to 1992, where they earned 4 A-levels and 10 GCSEs with a focus on maths and languages. From 1992 to 1996, they studied at Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd, obtaining a 2:1 LLB Hons degree in Law with French.